An Avatar Christmas
by ZeldaGirl9793
Summary: They say Christmastime is full of miracles. When the gang is invited to spend Christmas at the fire nation palace,a great Holiday is insured. But When Zuko is asked what his Christmas Wish is, he has no reply.The kids discover it’s something they cant buy
1. Chapter 1

"_The best gifts of all around any Christmas tree: The presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."_

_-Burton hills_

**~*~Chapter One~*~**

Katara, Sokka, and Toph dragged their bags out of the house. Aang was due to arrive at the southern water tribe any minute. GranGran, Pakku, and Hakoda followed them, to say their goodbyes. Zuko invited the gang to celebrate Christmas at the fire nation Palace.

"Can you believe it toph? Christmas at the Fire nation palace!" Katara exclaimed, twirling in the snow.

"Quite Frankly Katara, I'm just happy to get out of here! I appreciate you taking me in and all, but I really don't like the snow, I cant see with it"

"I'm just happy I get to see Suki." Sokka sang. He hasn't seen her in months.

"Ha, I bet Suger Queen here is excited to see her boyfriend!" teased Toph.

"Who?!?!?" Sokka asked.

Katara and Toph looked at each other. God, could Sokka be clueless at times.

"Aang, you idiot!" toph yelled as smacked Sokka in the arm.

"errr, OW!" he screamed rubbing his sore arm.

"Complements of The future Mrs. Twinkle Toes and I!"

"Toph, cut it out" Katara warned. Ever since they received the invitation, Toph did nothing but tease her about seeing Aang again. They haven't seen Aang since Sozin's Comet, a few months before.

At that moment, they heard the familiar roar of Appa, and on the Horizon, Aang appeared. When he landed, he received a huge hug from all of them. He also bowed to master Pakku.

"How've you been Aang?" he asked.

"I've been great"

"When you drop Katara, Toph and Sokka off next week, You have to show me how much you've progressed in water bending" He happily demanded.

"Will do!" Aang said with a smile.

"Go on, Zuko must be expecting you kids." GranGran urged.

They all said goodbye to Hakoda, GranGran and Pakku. Even though the kids were going to buy gifts for eachother at the Fire nation Capitol, Sokka already had his gift for Pakku.

"Grandpakku, I present you with this!" Sokka said, shoving the gift in Pakku's face.

"What the….?" He was baffled by the strange sock like garment with a deformed wood chunk protruding from it.

"It's a headband! Only the best for mah Grandpakku!" Sokka piped out, causing any seal in a 10 mile radius to start yelping.

"What's this thing coming out of it?"

"It's a carving of you!"

"Ugh, goodbye Sokka."

"Wait! Aren't you gonna put it on for me?"

"Goodbye Sokka! And how many times have I told you? Stop calling me Grandpakku!" He said pushing him onto Appa's tail.

The kids waved as they took flight. They were all so happy to catch up with Aang, and hear about his travels. They had a while to do so, for in a few hours, they'd arrive at the Palace.

A/N

I've been feeling in the christmas mood lately. All I can say at the moment is I'm embarassed by my other fanfics. They're perfect examples of bad writing. However, I intend to start fresh wth this story, I realllly want it to come out great, lol. and I know, they probly dont celebrate Christmas in the avatar world, but I wanted them to in this fanfic. so yea...lol

So, I know It's starting out slow, but I already have the plot planned out, and I plan on this fanfic being funny, but very emotional in later chapters. So with that said, I hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving, and If I have time, I plan on making this into a doujinshi on Deviantart

Thanks again for reading, please reveiw ^_^

Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Mike Dante DiMartino (sp?) and Bryan Konetezko and Nick. I have no ownership over it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was late afternoon when they finally arrived at the fire nation capital. It was more elegant at Christmas time then they could have imagined it. They were all so excited, especially Sokka, who was spazzing out with glee. December was the only month it ever possibly snowed in the fire nation, and they were lucky enough to see it. The stone paved streets were lightly dusted in a layer of grayish white snow. Hoards of Fire nation shoppers made their way in and out of the numerous stores, which has their finest on display. Red velvet ribbons strung with leechee nuts and red berries hung from the torches that lined the streets. For the first time in a long time, there was a great feeling of peace and happiness in the Fire Nation. It could have been because of how it was Christmas time, or it could've been the fact they had a new, tolerant and kind Fire lord.

It couldn't have been a lovelier sight. The palace was gleaming as the many servants were busting about, decorating the many halls and corridors of the royal grounds. They were expected, so they were invited in right away.

"Fire lord Zuko has been expecting you. He should be around here some were…" The servant was interrupted when Iroh approached them. "You're finally here!" the jolly man said, his usual gleam in his eye. "I'll bring you to him."

As they made their way through the many halls, they started friendly conversation.

"So how's your teashop?" Asked Katara.

"Ah, very good! Although it was hard leaving it." He admitted with a chuckle.

"You gotta make tea for us later." Demanded toph "Seriously, it's the best I've ever had."

"I'd be honored. Zuko should be right through the doors, but I must tell you, He's changed quite a bit!" He said with a laugh.

"How so?" asked Sokka, his voice full of intrigue.

"He's gotten much more cheerful and outgoing since ascending the throne. Seeing you all again is all he's been talking about for the past few days. He's so happy now, not to mention, he hugs everything in sight. I swear, you won't even recognize him!" He laughed, opening the doors to the throne room.

The room used to be dark, with a bed of flames around the throne, but one of his revisions were putting dozens of torches around the room which flooded it with light. Its cheerful vibe even challenged the palace at Ba Sing Sei. The young fire lord was making his way around the room, helping the servants with the decorating. "Sir, I think your friends are here." With that, Zuko turned around and his whole face lit up. "You're here!" He ran to them, and gave each of them a hug.

"It's been so weird not seeing any of you for moths." He admitted

"You seem so different!" said toph, her extremely frank personality shining through.

"Yea, I feel different. I just feel…a lot happier, I guess."

"Well that's good" Katara chimed in. "You deserve it!"

"Where's Suki and Ty Lee, did they get here yet?" Asked Sokka, Who was very eager to see his girlfriend.

"They arrived last night, but stayed at Mai's. They should be here any minute."

"So what's it like being fire lord?" Sokka asked, his eyes wandering about, taking in the splendor around him.

"It's great! I like it a lot. Although I do miss traveling."

"Same here" said toph. "I felt like I was wasting away at the southern water tribe."

"Southern water tribe?" Zuko paused suddenly. "Why didn't you go home?"

Toph looked nervous, and Katara was about to answer for her but her train of thought was broken when a servant opened the doors to the great hall and announced "Miss mai is here, along with her two friends. "

Mai came walking in, with two Kyoshi warriors in their winter travel uniforms. It was none other than Suki and Ty lee. Instead of walking, they were running, jumping, and screaming in delight.

Suki of course ran up to Sokka. "Sokka I miss you so much!!" She yelled, throwing her arms around him, almost knocking him over. Ty lee ran for Zuko first, but was eventually torn off by mai. Then hugs circulated around the room as the reunion continued.

Iroh walked in again.

"Dinner will be ready soon, but we still have time to get a tree. Who's up for it?"

They all looked at each other and agreed.

~*~*~*~

"So how big is this tree going to be?" asked Toph out of curiosity. The blind girl had her arm linked with Aang; her vision was too distorted from the snow on the ground to see clearly.

"That depends on what we can find."

The group made their way into the wilderness, Sokka Tripping every so often on a fallen stick, or whacking his head against a hanging branch. No surprise.

After a while of inspecting trees, they finally came across one they all liked.

"Who's doing the honors?" asked Zuko

"I am" said Mai, pulling an axe out of one of her many sleeves.

"You're always so prepared"

"You know it"

She stepped up to the trunk, her legs bent, ready to whack at the tree, when suddenly Aang darted in front of it.

"Wait! Don't do it!"

Mai sighed. "What?"

"Pleaseeee don't do it!"

They all were pretty frustrated and cold, and just wanted to get back to the palace, so of course they were all annoyed when Aang intervened.

"What, do you want to chop it down or something?" asked Mai with a peeved tone, handing the Axe to him.

"No, I just don't want you to kill the tree; it's not fair to the poor thing!"

"Aang, you're being ridiculous!" Sokka yelled "Besides, don't you eat plants? It'd the SAME thing!"

"No it's not, the plants I eat are for survival…This is a luxury!"

"Oh, stop being such a hippie!"

"I'm not being a hippie! I'm the Avatar, I care about all living things, and I can't help it."

Zuko grumbled out of frustration. "Great. Well we need a tree, so what are we supposed to do?"

"Hmmm…" Aang pondered. "Hey! Maybe we can pile a bunch of fruit in the shape of a tree and eat it on Christmas!"

"NO!" they all screamed in unison.

"This is insane." Said toph, as she slowly and carefully inched her way over to the tree. "You babies quit your bellyaching! I have an idea. Zuko, Use fire bending to melt the snow and Katara, Water bend the melted snow away from the tree."

"Are you going to do what I think you're gonna do?" asked Sokka, scratching his head.

"Well, that depends on what you're thinking. But I'm pretty sure my plan will make everyone somewhat happy, and it will shut twinkle toes up."

"Cool"

~*~*~*~

Aang, Zuko, Katara, Toph, Sokka, Suki, Ty Lee and Mai pushed the huge tree through the palace door, trailing mud with them.

"What the…? Prince Zuko, I thought you were going to cut down a tree, not dig it up!" said Iroh.

"Well, Avatar here didn't want to harm the tree so we had to earth bend this one out of the ground!" Yelled Zuko in frustration. As he stepped back to look at it, it only downright pissed him off more. "Look at it! It's a joke!" he screamed.

"Zuko, relax! It's a superb tree; it will look great one you stand it up straight."

"Alright, I guess so…"

As the servants huddled together and pushed it upright, the relatively small 10 foot tree grew much higher than the ceiling once it's roots were dug up, which were about 4 times bigger than the actual tree itself. The tree part bent over once it hit the Ceiling, and the Ginormous (hah, I like that word) mass of roosts and dirt took up the entire length from the floor to the ceiling.

They all stood there, should've been admiring it, but instead were sulking over the pitiful, humorous sight that was their Christmas tree.

"You know Zuko, You did a great thing! The tree probably thanks you" said Aang

"No it doesn't! It's a TREE! It doesn't have feelings or emotions and it can't talk! It doesn't know if it's dead or alive!"

"If it could talk, I'm sure it'd ask us to put it out of its misery" complained mai.

"Hah, you're right!" exclaimed Ty lee, both her and Suki bursting out in laughter.

~*~*~*~

A little while later, dinner was served. That went smoothly, and all was well. Shortly after that, they went into one of the many parlors and sat around the fire to discuss gifts as Iroh served tea.

"Alright, who's going first?" asked Zuko, looking around the room.

Everyone looked awkwardly at each other and said nothing. "I'll go first!"Chimed Ty Lee. "I want…hmmmmm, let's see. Defiantly something pink, like a parasol, a new ribbon for my hair, shoes, Candy, flowers or something cute!"

Next was Mai.

"Get me something; I don't care what it is. I'll like it as long as it's something Ty Lee wouldn't like"

Then Suki. "One thing I definitely need is a new makeup box. Maybe some need bladed fans. Other than that, I'm not hard to please; I'm pretty content with anything."

Then Sokka. "Hmm, I don't really care. Anything meat related would be awesome"

Next was Katara. "I don't care, I don't really need anything" Of course no one would fall for that.

After that came Toph. "I'm not really the needy type. Just get me anything..I guess" Everyone looked at her with a questionable stare.

"I want all my friends to be happy and have an awesome Christmas" Said Aang cheerfully.

"Again with the hippie talk!" Screeched Sokka

"Sokka, what is with you and hippies? He's the avatar, and an air bender, and those are his beliefs" Said Suki, telling off her ditzy boyfriend.

As the two of them babbled on, it was Zuko's turn.

"So Zuko, what do you want for Christmas this year?" Katara asked

"Umm…." He looked at the faces around him, and the dippy couple battling over hippies, and wondered- shouldI tell them what I _really_ want for Christmas? What he was asking for was something he could never ask them to get, and it was something they could probably never find. "I don't know…Anything is fine with me…really!" he said, throwing in a smile and a chuckle or two to sound extra convincing.

"You are a horrible liar!" said Toph. "Tell us what you want."

"Really, there's nothing I could possibly want this year. I have friends who care about me, a girlfriend, an uncle who loves me, and my psycho dad and sister are locked up."

"Zuko, I can still tell you're lying"

It was then that Iroh decided to step in. he figured he would save his nephew from the awkward situation. "It's getting late; you all must so tired from your travels, why don't we all call it a night?"

"Good idea, uncle" Zuko admitted, really wanting to say thank you. "Goodnight everyone" he said, quickly dismissing himself from the room.

"What's with him?" asked Sokka, puzzled yet again.

"You were so caught up in your "Hippie" talk that you didn't even hear what was going on!" Yelled Katara.

Everyone said goodnight after that, and went to their rooms. All the girls were in one big guestroom, and all the boys in another. "Aren't you coming, Katara?" asked Ty Lee. "Well, you go on with the others, Ty Lee, I'm going to stay behind, and I'll be there in a little bit, okay?" "Okie dokie!" she replied, Cart wheeling off into the guestroom.

"Now…where to find Iroh…" she quietly said to herself.

~*~**~*~

After searching for what seemed like forever, Katara finally came across Iroh. He was having tea with a few servants, and noticed her standing in the doorway.

"What are you still doing up?" He asked out of concern.

"I needed to ask you something."

"Of course. Come have tea and we'll talk. I just made a fresh pot of Jasmine."

Katara accepted his kind offer and sat down. The servants out of respect left the room to let them do their talking.

"So what troubles you?"

"Well, before when we were discussing gifts, Toph knew Zuko was lying when he said there was nothing that he wanted. And, well, I'm just wondering if you knew what it was..."

Iroh took a sip of his tea, and then answered. "I do know…But Even if you knew, I don't think it would be easy to find."

"Please Iroh, just tell me. You never know, I might be able to find his present somehow"

Iroh reconsidered not telling her, but he had faith in this girl, and knew she really cared about the well being of his nephew.

"He wants his mother back"

A/N

Lol, epic (not really, sorry) but anyways, I'm sorry about how rushed it is, I wanted to try to finish this by Christmas, and I think I'll be lucky if I finish it by the new year.

Lots of loose ends, but they will be tied in l8ter chapters, have faith por favor

Please read &Review


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